In this month’s issue we have:

• Requests and Information

o Editorial

o Help in Club Apiaries

o Advance News

• Summer Shows – Help Required

o Boarstall Summer Fete

o Monks Risborough Horticultural Society

Show

• Lindengate Fair

• Bees Volant

• Coloss Survey

• Swarm Line update

• Hives for sale

• June in the Apiary

o June Association meeting

o Nuclei for Sale

o Uniting Colonies

• What’s Going On?

o Apiary Sessions for New Beekeepers

o Bucks County BKA Events

o BBKA Basic Assessment

• Reminders

o Out Apiaries Available

o Registration on BeeBase

• Round Chapel Bees

• Video Link

Beehive Pests??Summer 2018

Programme of Events

Association Meeting

Uniting Colonies

20th June

Association Apiary

7:00pm

Mid

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Ass

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Editorial The wonderful Spring weather has continued. As I drive between apiaries I cannot recall when I last saw so

many wild flowers and blossom. My bees have been loving it but the ending of the OS flowering period has

resulted in a slowing of nectar being stored in some hives.

I am sure you remember the Met Office 30 day weather forecast I summarised last month? Well I said they

probably did not have a clue! The unsettled weather did not really happen but they got the final paragraph

correct.

‘If warm conditions develop then temperatures may be above the average late in the month.’

One day this last week I was watching a forecast that said no rain in our area and hour before a

thunderstorm!!Can our bees tell us any better? I don’t believe that animals can forecast weather, or

earthquakes for that matter, but they are more sensitive to changes in atmospheric conditions than we

humans are. I was just watching my bees the other afternoon when I was aggressively buzzed. What was

wrong? There was a change in the weather a little later and I was standing near a flightpath to a particular

tree in blossom. Did they know the weather was changing and they needed to work more quickly to bring in

the nectar from this source? I don’t know, but that was my theory. One thing I am certain about is that they

can be very irascible in thundery weather.

If you have had a difficult experience with your bees this winter please seek help and advice from other

members if you need it.

My e-mail address is newsletter@mbbka.org.uk

I have received several calls from members seeking my advice. (Poor deluded people!!). The main issue for

them has been the rapid build-up of bees once Spring started and all that wonderful food was available. If

you are keeping Buckfast strain bees in a National Beehive they are going to become overcrowded. A

National brood box holds 40.000 bees, it was designed for AMM not Buckfasts, AMC or AML. Buckfasts

can have over 80,000 bees at their peak and you need to be on larger hives, National 14X12 etc. or double

brood. You could always use splits and give the surplus bees to any of the club members who need to make

up their winter losses.

I have the basics of 3 hives for sale! You can purchase individual components

and mix and match

1 National Brood box – refurbished - £20

1 National Super – refurbished - £10

2 14X12 national Brood boxes (Fragile Planet – Plywood), New - £20 each

3 National Supers (Fragile Planet – Plywood), New -

£10 each

1 Thornes Roof refurbished - £15

2 Apex roofs, (Fragile Planet –reworked), 1 New 1 Refurbished - £15 each

As always these stands are available at £20 each

(I will place these, with Kevin’s permission, in the apiary shed, for you to look at)

Help Wanted at Summer Shows!

Come On, Please Volunteer!!

Have you ever been to Boarstall? Boarstall is famous for its Tower, a medieval gate house,

and it’s Duck Decoy.

Last year, Jim Webster from Bees Knees and I had the

unenviable task of destroying a bee colony in a chimney at

the Tower. This was for health and safety reasons.

Midsummer murders were filming a scene on the Tower

roof and the bees were a danger to the crew!!

There is a second feral colony half way up the Tower. We

declined to destroy these as we would have to have climbed

ladders 50ft up from the moat or abseiled down the same

distance from the top. Each year MBBKA have attended a

number of swarm calls from Boarstall and the immediate

area.

The Parish Clerk has sent me the following e-mail:

You may be aware that although one of Buckinghamshire’s smallest villages, our annual fete held in the grounds of the tower together with the steam fair draws over 2000 visitors every year.

This year we are planning on promoting local businesses and have already agreed with a local meat supplier, blacksmith and Alpaca wool spinner to attend.

Following receipt of your flyer regarding missing swarms, It occurred that either your organisation or a local member may benefit from the fete, whilst an opportunity to sell local honey we would also hope that some sort of display could be given by yourselves to entertain and educate.

The fete is to be held on Saturday 16 June.

I have spoken with Jonathan and we feel this would be a worthwhile event. We will run a stall in

conjunction with Mr. Bees Knees, (one of our pest control colleagues). We need a couple of other

volunteers, (minimum), to run a stall. Come on come and enjoy the day.

I have coerced 2 young ladies to help with this event but we would

appreciate some more help!!!

If you can help with any event, please get in touch with Jonathan Matthews on education@mbbka.org.uk.

Association Apiary Meeting 20th June

The next Association Apiary meeting will be held on 20th June at the Association Apiary, starting at 7pm. This month we will

cover:

- Follow up on the queen rearing carried out at the May meeting

- Clipping and marking queens

- Uniting colonies

The clipping of queens will include practice by attendees on drones.

The meeting is open to all members.

In the Apiary this month

Some of us have been lucky enough to harvest some early season honey, this honey is always a bonus. However it is likely to be

a precursor to the June gap.

With the late Spring arriving all at once, just like last year, there could be a severe

shortage of forage for the bees as the flowers turn from Spring to Summer plants.

Particular attention should be paid during colony inspections to the volume of stores

within the colony. Reduced stores will impair the growth of the colony and hence the

possibility of a good honey harvest. If necessary feed colonies short of stores.

The generally good weather in May has meant that colony expansion has been rapid,

swarm prevention measures should be adopted to prevent unwanted swarms.

For a good honey harvest, colonies will need to be strong and healthy. Carry out a disease inspection on colonies and check

varroa mite levels. Consider uniting smaller colonies, question why a colony is weak, do not unite if a colony is unhealthy.

Prepare supers for the summer flow and make sure the colonies have sufficient space by supering up as necessary.

Nuclei and queens for sale

During June I hope to have several nucleus colonies and queen bees for sale. A 5 frame nucleus will cost £100 with frame swap

or £115 with no frame swap. The queens will be marked and clipped costing £10 each.

If you are interested in purchasing either item please drop me an email at sean@wendover.co.uk.

Uniting Colonies

The basic principles of uniting colonies are:

· Allow the colonies to mix slowly

· Disorientate the colonies

· Confuse the colony scents

The classic method using a Newspaper barrier.

As with all the uniting methods, the colonies to be united should be moved

to within a metre of each other with the entrances pointing in the same

direction.

Before starting, carry out a full disease inspection on both colonies, ensure

one colony is queenless and there are no queen cells. It is best to prepare

during the day by placing two sheets of newspaper over the bottom brood

box and under the queen excluder, this means zero disturbance of the

bottom colony during the uniting. After the bees have stopped flying for the

day quietly remove any supers from the hive which is to become the bottom

brood box. Spray the newspaper (placed on brood box earlier) with water

and pierce the paper with the sharp end of a hive tool.

Gently lift the second hive from its floor and place over the bottom brood

box. If there were supers on the bottom hive the top box must be covered

with newspaper as per above and the supers placed on top.

Leave for at least 3 days, you will know it has worked when there are fine

bits of paper under the hive and being pulled out of the entrance by the

bees.

When uniting nuclei it is employ a single brood box. Place frames from the

queenright nucleus warm way in the brood box and create an envelope with

newspaper enclosing the frames and bees to the front of the hive. Then place the

queenless colony in the bee free space to the rear of the hive. Spray the paper and

pierce the paper as described above. This uniting method is best completed in the

evening.

It is possible to unite three or more colonies directly. The principle here is to cause

confusion which means the bees are unlikely to fight. Intersperse the frames and shake

icing sugar on both sides of the frames before placing in the brood box. Again this should

be carried out in the evening.

The following e-mail has reached me via a circuitous route, Thornes Beehives – Bucks County Association

– MBBKA Chairman. The only other information I have is that this project is in Longwick. If any one

wishes to help by placing hives in this orchard please contact John Collingswood via the e-mail address

below. The section on the candles I believe to be a question for Gill at Thornes.

Hi there,

I am about to build a children’s Round Chapel and on the land is an acre of orchard and I have somebody

who I have allowed to put his hive there but he does not look after them and they keep dying.

Also I will need candles as once the chapel is built there will be an eternal light that will never be allowed to

go out.

The website address is roundchapel.co.uk Can you provide me please with a solution that puts bees back on

this land with everything I need to know and all the paraphernalia to look after them and what is your

suggestion for the constant use of candles. From: John Colinswood [mailto:jc@wmsgroup.co.uk

Bucks County Beekeepers Summer Events

There are several events being planned for the summer, please put the dates in your diary:

- 11th August Bucks County Disease Day, the day will be geared for small groups and include examples of notifiable

diseases

- 30th August Bucks Show, the county Association will again be running a stand at the Bucks Show

- 19th September County Honey Show, Mid Bucks will be hosting the county Honey Show as part of our 1st 2018

winter meeting

There will be separate communications relating to each event.

Swarm Line Update

As of today, Sunday 3rd. June we have received 38 calls to the swarm line or members reporting on swarms

they have been called to.

Only 15 of the calls and reports actually were honey bees. Only 2 of these have been swarms of a reasonable

size. Several have moved on before, or as a collector, has arrived. Some have absconded from the box they

were in on subsequent days. 3 swarms were so small that you could put them in a tea mug.

I have collected 4 swarms myself. I passed the largest one on to a member who had lost all his hives in the

winter and 2 of the others, which I deemed too small to pass on to a beginner, are gradually increasing in

numbers in my apiary.

The majority of calls have been bumble bees in walls, soffits, bird boxes, the ground etc. We advise the

public on these and pass on the numbers of our friendly pest controllers.

I normally forecast an upsurge in swarm numbers 2 to 3 weeks after the OSR has finished. Around me that

would be the week ahead.

If you are waiting for a swarm to start beekeeping or renew your stocks I would not be too hopeful.

Elsewhere in this newsletter Sean is advertising his 2018 NUCs at less than half the current rate. I would

take advantage of this offer!!!

Do You Know What Coloss Is???

COLOSS (Prevention of honey bee COlony LOSSes) is an international, non-profit association

headquartered in Bern, Switzerland that is focussed on improving the well-being of bees at a global

level.

They provide very useful information for beekeepers and have an extensive archive of scholarly articles on

beekeeping.

We have received the following request from Dr Anthony Williams. The Club Secretary and Chairman have

both urged me to include the following request in this month’s newsletter, ( I intended to, anyway!!)

Dear Secretary,

As the COLOSS English survey coordinator for 2018, I am asking for your help in disseminating and completing the Spring Hive Losses Survey for this year. I am writing to you as you are an officer of your local association and possibly able to mobilise a number of bee keepers for your region.

COLOSS would like to invite all English bee keepers to complete the hive loss survey for 2018; in particular we would like to get better handle on data for the Mid Bucks region. I would like to share the COLOSS open letter inviting you and your members to complete the survey. I enclose some instructions for completing the survey should you chose to complete it.

Alison Gray and Magnus Peterson will be shortly coordinating the Scottish effort separately; annually they have in the order of 500 responses. I hope we can match their efforts. For the last several years English data has not been shared with COLOSS at a European level which is why I have volunteered my services.

I have also attached a little advert/card promoting the survey. I would be grateful if you could include it in your association’s newsletter or website, social media page over the coming weeks. If for whatever reason your executive committee was unable to support this survey I hope that you will be able to support this effort at some personal level.

A summary of COLOSS hive losses survey work over the last 8 years can be found on the International Bee Research Association face book link.

https://www.facebook.com/IBRAssociation/posts/1275974155838967:0

If you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to get in touch my contact details be found in open letter.

Regards

Anthony WilliamsOpen Letter Follows

Letter from COLOSS

Dear Beekeeper.

In the last decade, elevated losses of western honey bee colonies have been observed, mainly in Europe and North America, but the underlying causes still remain unclear. In 2008, European and USA honey bee experts formed a network "COLOSS" realising that efforts by individual countries to identify the drivers of losses were unlikely to succeed, given the current consensus that causes are complex and can be different between regions and between the years. Now more than 1000 scientists are working together in this network in specific working groups.

The epidemiological working group have developed a standardised questionnaire to identify the underlying causal factors of losses and provide beekeepers sustainable management strategies.

We now invite you to fill in the questionnaire for 2018 which you will find below. This will enable us to compare your answers with other beekeepers. With your data we can estimate the relative risk of colony losses for beekeeper decisions such as Varroa treatment, migration of colonies and comb replacement. We also aim to identify differences in relative mortality risk between regions. This will enable follow up research projects in specific regions.

At your option your personal details may be recorded however we undertake not to disclose them to any third party to protect your privacy.

Finally your help is much appreciated. Please can I ask you to promote this survey and the questionnaire link through this open letter to as many English bee keepers as you are able to do so. Feel free to share the link by email, word of mouth, newsletters or social media and to your local bee keeping organisations. In doing so you will be making a contribution to tackling the problem of colony losses and ensuring that English data is represented as an equal partner in the COLOSS European community.

The survey link : http://www.bee-survey.com/index.php/246176?lang=en

Thanking you

Dr Anthony Williams

COLOSS Survey Coordinator for England

De Montfort University

A Member of Leicester and Rutland Beekeepers Association and Rugby Beekeepers Association

Email: anthony.williams@dmu.ac.uk

Tel: 0116 207 8468

Instructions for completing the survey -- You may wish to print out a copy of these instructions for reference --

1. Please read the questions carefully and answer as many as possible. Your cooperationis much appreciated.

2. Only complete the electronic “Official COLOSS” questionnaire once.3. There are separate paper questionnaires from the National Bee Unit (NBU) in

circulation and also pending a Winter loss survey from the British Bee KeepersAssociation (BBKA). Though there is some overlap between the three surveys pleasetreats each survey separately. Each organisation’s questionnaire has been designed tomeet different organisational purposes. At present efforts between the threeorganisations are uncoordinated it is hoped that in the future we will be able tocoordinate our efforts.

4. Please note that questions marked with * have to be completed.5. Excluding the informed consent question, final comments box there are 31

questions.6. The survey asks questions about your bee keeping practice over the last 12 months,

in particular the number of colonies you have in production and have lost over thewinter period. You may wish to consult your records before starting the survey.

7. The questionnaire should be done in one sitting and should take about 15 minutes tocomplete.

8. However if you wish to complete the survey in more than one sitting to check youranswers for example, you can do so by providing a User ID and password. You will beemailed a link to complete the survey. Click on the greyed out words "Resume later"on the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.

9. This questionnaire will be close on 5th June 2018.10. The second page of the survey is an informed consent form, please select the

checkboxes/statements that apply to you, finally on this page place your initials inthe “Other” box at the bottom of the page to indicate your consent.

11. Finally on completing the survey you will have the option of printing out your surveyresponses for your records.

12. The survey is electronic form and there is no provision for a paper copy, however if

you do not have online access or you are below the age of 18 you may find someone

to complete the survey on your behalf.

13. If you have any questions about the survey then please contact Anthony Williams atthe email address: anthony.williams@dmu.ac.uk

About COLOSS

COLOSS is a pan European network of researchers, beekeepers and government representatives that provides resources and opportunities to disseminate latest bee keeping research.

The mission of COLOSS is to improve the well-being of bees (in particular the western honey bee Apis mellifera) at a global level.

Our goals include:

• Advocating for bees, and their well-being, especially to government legislators andadministrators

• Coordinating international research, including the development of standard researchmethods

• Disseminating knowledge and training related to improving the well-being of bees

• Promoting youth development and gender balance among those studying, or thoseactively involved in promoting, the well-being of bees

The survey team is made up of in excess of 30 countries, most of the European regions are involved in COLOSS monitoring. Each national co-ordinator runs a similar survey in their own country, using a standardised questionnaire. The national co-ordinators are a mix of university researchers and academics (in biology, zoology, veterinary science, statistics, computer science) and professional beekeeping advisers, all with an interest in honey bee well-being. Many are themselves beekeepers. More information about COLOSS can be found at www.coloss.org

Address: Institute of Bee Health University of Bern Schwarzenburgstrasse 161 3003 Bern Switzerland

Anthony Williams works at De Montfort University in the school of Computer Science and Informatics. He has been keeping honey bees for 8 years and is a member of two regional associations. He quietly looks after a small apiary in his spare time. Anthony got involved in COLOSS at the beginning of the year and volunteered his services when he discovered that English hive survival data was no longer being collected and disseminated at a European level.

Bees Volant: a family matter

"The insect which is most usually met with in heraldry is

undoubtedly the bee. Being considered, as it is, the symbol

of industry, small wonder that it has been so frequently

adopted … It occurs in the arms of … Sewell ..."

Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry, page 195

A Henry Sewelle registered the arms "Sable, a chevron

between three bees volant, argent" and their crest "Within a

chaplet of roses, argent, leaved vert, a bee Or" in 1405. Alas

in 1415 King Henry V issued a dictum restricting registration

to "arms which were borne at Agincourt", unless the bearer

could show a long and valid right to them. It appears that Henry Sewelle did not

pursue the matter; Nicholas Girtington of York claimed these arms in 1563.

Nevertheless, some Sewells continued to use them informally; my late father-in-law

seems to have been one of them; he used this book-plate

The motto, “Industria Permanente” means, roughly, “always busy”. My father-in-law

wasn't a beekeeper, though my mother-in-law was, at least when I married my wife.

Either way, I didn’t so much take up beekeeping, but marry into it!

Jonathan Matthews

BBKA - Basic Assessment

Starting in May we will be running BBKA Assessment training sessions. These sessions are

open to all members who have kept bees for a minimum of 12 months. The basic

assessment is the starting point and entry requirement for all other BBKA examinations and

assessments; this practical assessment covers the basic skills and knowledge of the

beekeeping. This training is a great way to consolidate your beekeeping skills and you can

attend the sessions without going on to sit the formal assessment. If you are interested in

studying for the BBKA modules then the basic assessment is a pre-requisite. There is no

charge for the training sessions but there is a fee of £20 for the final assessment. This link

will take you to the basic assessment prospectus.

There will be 4 theory sessions on Thursday 31st May, Thursday 7th, 14th and 21st June

starting at 19:30 (approx 2hrs). These will cover the 4 sections of the assessment:

manipulation and equipment,

natural history and beekeeping,

swarming and swarm control,

diseases and pests.

There will also be the opportunity for a mock assessment with one of our more experienced

beekeepers before the assessment in July.

If you are interested in taking part please contact Jonathan at education@mbbka.org.uk

Potential beekeepers from Lindengate attended our Beginners Sessions a couple of years ago.

Apiary Sessions for New Beekeepers

The New Beekeepers Course kicked off on Monday 19th February with the first of six lectures. The lectures

are followed by a series of practical sessions in the Association apiary when the new beekeepers will have

the chance to gain experience opening hives and handling bees. For these practical sessions we need

experienced beekeepers to act as tutors, instructing the new beekeepers in small groups. Like the lectures,

the practical sessions are on Mondays, and last a couple of hours. The ones taking place in April and May

start at 6:00 p.m.:

Several new members are unable to make these Monday evening sessions. Any members who would be

willing to offer new beekeepers experience doing inspections please contact Jonathan Matthews

education@mbbka.org.uk

Session in June and July start at 6:30 p.m.:

4th June

11th June

18th June

25th June

2nd July

9th July

If you are an experienced beekeeper and would be willing and able to be a tutor at any of these Apiary

sessions, please get in touch with Jonathan Matthews on education@mbbka.org.uk . Thanks in anticipation!

Advance News

Sarah Turner has already finalised some interesting speakers for the winter program 2018-2019

September. Ash Samuelson on her research into bumble bees and the waggle dance.

November. Paul Walton - 'B+-Breeding Better Bees'

January. Dr Gemma Batten - ‘The Bee Road Project.’

February. Colin Oakes - 'Plants and Archaeology, Green Fingers and Science'

Recommended Video of the Month. Watch on Youtube.

"C1801 Rearing of queen bees"

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyzAS5eZ2xA

Club Apiary Help Required

Kevin Crangles, the Apiary manager is always in need of help to cut grass etc. in the club apiary

He would like volunteers who can spare 2 hours on a Weekday or Saturday Morning to get in touch with

him.

Phone 01296 696074

e-mail apiary@mbbka.org.uk

Out Apiaries

We continue to receive offers from members of the public with

potential apiary sites. The latest being in Addlington to the north of the county. We now have a total of

13 available sites across the whole area that Mid Bucks covers. John Dadswell, our President, is the

custodian of the list of potential sites. John can be contacted at john.dadswell@gmx.com. It would be

good if as an Association we could take advantage of these offers from the public.

Editors Note: Why not contact John and see where out apiaries are available.

Are You Registered?

Registering your hives on BeeBase is free. You will be automatically

informed of disease outbreaks. The Bee Inspectorate may include you in

their testing surveys which can be most helpful. Subsidy from the EU,

which helps pay for the NBU, is based on the number of hives

registered nationally. (http://www.nationalbeeunit.com )

Update Beebase Records

Every colony needs to be recorded on Beebase, log on here and update records if necessary.

And finally if you think we have a difficult time with wasps and the

occasional badger!!!!!!!

Hungry bears raid Baltic beehives them about the honey: Brown

bears cause trouble for Baltic

fa

Wild bears are causing thousands of euros' worth of damage as they raid beehives for food across

Finland and Estonia, it's been reported.

While the image of Winnie-the-Pooh feeding himself full of honey might be an appealing one, the reality is

rather different as wild animals come ever closer to populated areas to find food.

It's become a particular problem in Finland, with national broadcaster Yle sayingsome 70 hives have

already been destroyed this year. In one case, Yle reports, the bear was undeterred by an electric fence and

tore down two hives 100 metres from a house.

According to Maaseudun Tulevaisuus, which reports news for the agricultural community, over 124,000

euro ($143,000; £108,000) was paid out to farmers in compensation for bear damage to hives.

RAEDLe paid

out thousands of

euros in compensation

for damaged hives

Don't tell them about the honey: Brown bears cause trouble for Baltic farmers

Authorities have paid out thousands of euros in compensation for damaged hives

It's a similar situation across the Gulf of Finland, where hungry wild animals are also wreaking havoc in

Estonia.

Newspaper Postimees says that animal damage to stock and crops was so severe in 2017 that it has taken

until the end of May to process all applications for compensation.

While the greatest damage was due to wolf attacks on livestock, bears in Estonia also destroyed over 300

beehives. They also have a habit of destroying rolls of silage, Postimees reports.

The Finnish Beekeepers' Association says that one of the greatest challenges is to prevent return visits from

thieving bears.

Hives can only be moved at night when all the bees are back indoors, and the new position has to be more

than three kilometres (two miles) away, otherwise the insects won't navigate their way back to the new site.